Ethros
Visual Description In its natural state, Ethroses appear as ethereal spirits and are often mistaken for lost souls. While in this state they are loosely Astorian shaped in appearance with the exception of missing its lower half and possessing a blank, unrecognizable face. Their ethereal form is usually coloured a pale white or blue hue. However, when possessing an individual, Ethros will look identical to the host physically as it has no obvious tell-tale signs of possession. Experienced Seekers would able to identify any minor changes to the host’s soul, as Ethros will dampen and misshape the host’s essence emission. Known Abilities Possession is a staple ability of an Ethros. They will take over the body of Astorians first and foremost as they generally have the ideal soul capacity, it is rare for an Ethros to take possession of an animal. During the possession the host will still experience everything occurring to their body, but will be unable to control their actions. Ethros also have a form of touch based telepathy, primarily so they can probe the mind of the host or whomever they touch for selective thoughts or memories to avoid detection, they also use this ability to communicate with their host mentally. Finally Ethros also have the ability to accurately mimic any particular voice they have knowledge of to further help manipulate or generally confuse others. Typical Behaviours Ethroses will initially mimic the personality and mannerisms of their host, but will over time change into their own personality. Naturally Ethroses enjoy and gain sustenance from causing harm, either physically or mentally to themselves or others around them. A common behaviour seen in subjects is to systematically ruin the host’s relationships and general life to cause them pain, if the host is not receptive to such behaviour they will try increasingly drastic measures, such as murder. Ethroses will however, avoid fatally harming the host or otherwise putting them in high amounts of danger, rather opting for more subtle or obviously winnable approaches. Ethroses will not unbind from a host willingly and will often remain attached until the host dies. Reproduction / Creation Ethroses are most commonly summoned from the Under realm via a binding ritual. The binding ritual involves restraining three live, egg laying hens in a three point circle, then the vessel of possession is placed in the centre of the circle in a shallow hole. This vessel is usually an Astorian but also may be an animal. After the vessel is in place the hens are sacrificed and their blood is left to trail into the hole. While the blood runs several chants are spoken while pelting the vessel with fertilised chicken eggs. The ritual weakens the vessels resistance to influence and also summons the Ethros. The act of possession has been said to be excruciating and lingering, as the demon smothers the soul of the vessel. There are rare instances of wild Ethroses patrolling places where people have died, such as gravescapes or forests. Weaknesses To remove an Ethros from a host without killing the host they must be forcefully expelled via a soul forge or forge stones until the host experiences soul burn. As this only removes the demon from the host, so it turns back in its ethereal form, the only true way to banish an Ethros is to bind it to a special vessel to contain it. This vessel is often made of a runed metal. Once trapped a portal to the Under realm may be opened and the Ethros vessel thrown through it to completely banish the demon. Category:Devoid